Announcements:
In Person Worship starts on July 5th at 10:30 am.
To see a video of this service go to either . . .
* YouTube – St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Banff, Alberta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHak6P9gfWJAj3qd_GdDrPA
* Facebook – Banff Presbyterian
Question: What has given you strength and helped you to cope during the pandemic?
Call to Worship (Psalm 9:1-2).
I will give thanks to the LORD
with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Opening Prayer
Generous God of abundant love and grace,
We praise that you loved the world so much that you gave your Son to us
that we might experience the wholeness and salvation you give to us.
We praise you the abundant grace that you have lavished upon us in Christ.
We praise you Lord Jesus for what you gave up for us and set aside
in order to become human and walk among us,
so that we might see, and hear and be touched by your grace.
Lord we will never be able to truly thank you enough
for what you have given to us.
Pour your love and your Spirit upon us today,
that we may recognize that our true abundance
lies not in what we have achieved for you,
but what Christ achieved for us on the cross.
Gracious God,
We come into presence humbled by your generosity towards us
and ashamed of those moments this week
when have hoarded your grace to ourselves.
Forgive us;
when we have let pride and insecurity
keep us from trusting your mercy and grace,
when we have let selfishness deprive us
from experiencing the joy of blessing, serving,
loving others in your name
Forgive us for not sharing the heavy loads of others during this time of Covid-19
Lord, have mercy on us,
that you might restore our lives
and nourish us as we grow in the love of Christ.
Strengthen us to give ourselves fully and completely
to Christ’s work in the world.
Accept the worship we bring to you this day in response to your generous love in Christ. Amen
Hymn: “Seek ye first”” Words and Music by Karen Lafferty
Scripture Readings
Exodus 16:1-12 Israel complains to God after being given her freedom by God.
Philippians 4:10-20 Paul addresses the issue of contentment.
Sermon: Being Content Even in the Midst of a Pandemic
“A Russian woman lived with her husband and two children in a very small hut. Her husband’s parents lost their home and she had to take them in.
In desperation, she went to the village wise man, whom she knew had solved many, many problems. “What should I do?” she begged. “Do you have a COW?” asked the wise man. “Yes,” she replied.
“Then bring her into the hut too. And come back and see me in a week,” said the wise man.
A week later she was back. “This is utterly unbearable” she said. “Do you have any CHICKENS?” asked wise man. “Yes,” she replied. “What about them?” The Wiseman said, “Bring them into the hut too, and come back and see me in another week.”
“This wiseman does not know what he is doing,” she thought. Nevertheless, still awed by his reputation, she did as he asked.
A week later she returned. “This is absolutely impossible,” she cried. “Our home is a mess.”
“All right,” said the wise man, “take out the chickens.” The next week she reported that without the chickens it was definitely better, but still a miserable situation.
“All right,” said the wise man, “now take out the cow. That will settle your problem.” And it did. Without the chickens and cow, the woman, her husband, the children, and his two parents got along quite peacefully.
Sometimes we don’t know how well off we really are until something helps us to see life differently!”
For most of us, this time of living with Covid-19 has helped us to see our life and world differently. And that is good thing.
Tragically, Christian and Non-Christian alike have struggled to go from
life without the pandemic,
to life with the pandemic,
and now to think about our lives beyond the pandemic,
All in a matter of 4 months or so.
Like the people of God in the Book of Exodus, we too are prone to complain about circumstances, be they difficult or easy, familiar or unfamiliar. We struggle to be at peace with God, with each other, and with ourselves. Never, it seems have so many people struggled to be contented without much success.
In marked contrast with the current widespread discontent of our time, the Apostle Paul spoke on the subject of contentment or being at peace in his letter to the church at Philippi.
Earlier in chapter 4, Paul has taught us to use thankful prayer to combat our anxiety. He has taught us to focus our thoughts on those things that God declares are important to think about, assuring us that God will guard our thoughts in order to give us peace.And now Paul points us to how to be fully content in any and all circumstances.
In verses 10-20, Paul’s expresses his deep thanks for their concern for him and he shares how he learned to be peace or content with whatever circumstances he faced. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:10-13,
I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it.
Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.
I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
The first thing Paul shares about being content is that it is something that is learned. Contentment or being at peace with our circumstances, is something that does not comes naturally to us, therefore it must be learned. (v. 11)
Paul learned through experience to be contented with his circumstances by trusting God for each day as it was given to him. Paul had to discover by success and failure that God could be trusted to provide for his wellbeing.
To truly be content, we have to let our faith in God guide our response to our circumstances and not our emotions. Our emotions don’t always lead us in the right direction.
One of the mottos in Alcoholics Anonymous is
“Fake it until you can make it!”
I know this sounds rather hypocritical, but think of the example of a mother who is awakened in the middle of the night by her crying baby. Does she say,
“I’m sorry little one, I can’t get up right now and change your diaper and feed you. I don’t feel like it and I don’t want to be a hypocrite.” Of course not.
The mother gets up, smiles at her baby, takes care of her baby’s needs whether she feels like it or not.
And then she crawls back into bed and before falling asleep, wakes her husband, and tells him, next time it’s his turn to get up with the baby.
Many times we step up and do the right thing because it is simply the right thing to do. Period! We do the right thing again and again and again until it become more natural and ingrained in us to do so.
Most of us would prefer not to wear a mask in public or to social distance ourselves from others, but we do so out of God’s High Call to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do so, whether we feel like or not. And in doing something out love for someone else becomes an act of worship to God.
Paul also reminds us that Contentment is Not Found in Possessions or Circumstances. I suspect this not some new truth for us, but one we relearning now.
Paul summarizes this truth for us when he declares in Philippians 4:12,
I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.
Paul is saying that regardless of our circumstances, whether we have money or not, whether the times restrict us or liberate us, we can still have peace in the midst of every circumstance because every day is a gift of God to us.
Please note, I am not saying that we should ever be content or satisfied or happy with any act of wrongdoing, uncaring , neglect, or injustice against anyone. We have a strong Biblical mandate to Do Justice, Show God’s Mercy, and to Care for all, especially the least in our community and world. When God tells us to do something it is usually accompanied with a reminder of what God has done for us.
Paul is speaking here responding to his personal circumstances, as a follower of Jesus in the world.
In 1 Timothy 6:7-8, Paul wrote to his friend and colleague
for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it;
but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
Contentment is seeing all that we are, all that we have, everything we will be, as a gift of a God who loves us. It is God who gives us contentment and peace.
In this pandemic God has not stopped providing for us and others. God is still caring for us, and is still teaching and shaping us individually and as a community faith just as God did before it the pandemic.
If we have learned to trust and depend upon God more deeply and if we have learned new coping skills, then we will move forward from this time as stronger followers of Jesus. And we will be better prepared for any new challenges that we will face in future just as the Apostle Paul discovered. This too is a gift of God to us.
Paul then reminds that us contentment comes from relying on the strength we have in Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:13)
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Paul declares that true contentment comes from living life by understanding that everything pales in comparison to knowing and serving Christ, which he has declared in chapter 3.
Discontentment arises from feeling deprived in some way, shape or form and from comparing ourselves to others. It is funny and tragic at the same time, that we usually compare ourselves to those who have more than we do and rarely with those who have less.
But when we understand the gravity of our sin, and realize that God owes us nothing, then we will appreciate how much mercy, love, and grace God has lavished upon us through Christ’s life and sacrifice for us.
One of the eye opening things we have learned in this pandemic is that many things we have long taken for granted can be suddenly taken away by a pandemic or some other circumstance.
Paul learned again and again to rely on the strength God gave him in various circumstances as we must do. He appreciated that he learned to be less self-reliant and more God-reliant.
In verse 19, Paul shares . . .
And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
There is a whole of lot of experience and learning to rely on God’s strength that lies behind those word of encouragement from Paul.
Hopefully we have learned to appreciate the simple gifts of a hug, the gift of being reminded that we can still worship, care for one another, learn and grow in our faith, communicate God’s love, truth and wisdom in isolation just as we did before the pandemic.
I want to end by quoting a Facebook posting from Mindful Christianity Today on June 25 that fits in well here.
The deepest level of worship is
Praising God through pain,
Thanking God through trials,
Trusting God when we are tempted to lose hope,
And loving God, even when God seems distant.
At my lowest, God is my hope.
At my darkest, God is my light.
At my weakest, God is my strength
At my saddest, God is my comforter.
This is the God’s Good News for us today. Amen.
Hymn: “Grace alone” Words / Music: Jeff Nelson and Scott Wesley Brown
Sharing our Concerns and Thanksgivings
Please feel free to pass on your prayer requests to me through email, text, or phone. You can reach me at stpaulsbanff@telus.net or 403-609-0872 call or text. I lift you all in prayer each day and would like to know how to pray for you and what concerns you.
Prayers of the People
Lord God of heaven and earth,
with joy and thanksgiving, we praise you
for you create, sustain, and redeem all things.
Strengthen us in these difficult days
to show your love to others as we pray for
the church and those who lead it as we adapt to new ways of worshiping and being together…(Silence for 5 seconds)
For creation that we may learn to reverence and care for it…
(Silence for 5 seconds)
For those who lead in the nations of the world that they may work for the well-being of the most vulnerable…(Silence for 5 seconds)
For those who serve as teachers, healers and caregivers
in these stressful days when their work is so demanding…
(Silence for 5 seconds)
For the poor, the homeless, the hungry
and all whose livelihoods have been disrupted during the pandemic…
(Silence for 5 seconds)
For those who have generously given of their time, talent, and treasure to care for neighbours, friends, family and the least in their communities . . .
(Silence for 5 seconds)
For those who are ill or struggling in isolation,
for those who mourn the loss of someone dear
for those caring for sick and dying family members at home…
(Silence for 5 seconds)
For the powerless and the oppressed in all places and for those who work to defend them
For those working to bring about social change and justice against great odds and opposition…
(Silence for 5 seconds)
Hear us now as we pray in silence for situations on our hearts this day.
(Silence for 5 seconds)
God eternal,
keep us in communion with your people across all times and in all places.
May we serve you faithfully,
blessing others as we have been blessed by your love
through Jesus Christ
in whose character and ways we seek to follow. Amen.
Offering of our Time, Talent, Treasure to God
Thank you for ongoing gifts to St. Paul’s. And thank you for the sharing of the time, talent and treasure God has given to you to bless, love, serve, and witness to your neighbors.
Donations for St. Paul’s can be sent by mail to St. Paul’s, Box 1264, Banff, AB T1L 1B3. If you want to make an e-transfer, then please contact the church (stpaulsbanff@telus.net) for instructions as to how to do this.
Hymn: “Great is thy faithfulness” Words: Thomas O. Chisholm. Music: William M. Runyan
Played and Sung by Chris Rice
Pastoral Charge and Blessing (2 Thessalonians 2:16)
Go now to bless, serve, love others in Christ’s name.
We go to give witness to Christ
who strengthen us in all circumstances.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself
and God our Father,
who loved us and through grace
has given us eternal comfort and good hope,
comfort your hearts
and strengthen them
in every good work and word. Amen.
Have great week. Stay safe!
We bless each other using the words of the Spirit Song,
Mission Moment – Sunday, June 28
Keeping Connected in Nepal
When Dr. Nicholaus and Becky Bauman left Canada in 2017 for two years in Nepal, they were reviving direct connections with people after 20 years. The partnership between The Presbyterian Church in Canada and the United Mission to Nepal began in 1974, and the last mission internship was in 2000. God’s mission in the world includes people who share their professional skills while learning about life and faith from co-workers and neighbours. The motto of Tansen Mission Hospital is “We Serve, God Heals.” Nepal is very poor, and Becky soon became involved in Tansen’s New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre, which cares for abandoned people with mental health issues. In January 2020, Becky and two of her children returned to Tansen to celebrate the Prayer Dedication of the new Centre, which receives support from Presbyterians Sharing. Although Becky lives in Canada, her deep commitment and partnership will continue. Praise God!
PRAYER PARTNERSHIP
Monday, June 29 Merciful God, strengthen us by your Holy Spirit that today we may be witnesses to your great love for the whole world in Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, June 30 In Christ we are all one family. We give thanks for the work of KAIROS that brings together many denominations to work together ecumenically for justice and peace.
Wednesday, July 1 (Canada Day) We pray that Canada will be a just and fair country, and we pray for politicians and public servants who form our laws and for judges, lawyers, law officers and others who help keep them.
Thursday, July 2 We thank God for the diversity of age, gender, culture, experience and theological perspective that enriches the church. May our unity in Christ grow as we acknowledge our differences.
Friday, July 3 We pray and give thanks to God for Jo Morris, organizer of Canada Youth 2021.
Saturday, July 4 We celebrate in prayer as Presbyterian World Service & Development provides families in Malawi with the tools they need to start rebuilding their lives after Cyclone Idai.